Boothill Cemetery

Tascosa ghost town


photos by Jeanette Coaly



plat map of Boothill
l grave marker of Jesse Sheets Jesse Sheets (?-1886) was killed by an errant bullet during a gunfight; removed to Roswell, NM, cemetery in 1928.

2 grave marker of John Leverton John Leverton (?-March 21, 1886) died in a gunfight.

3 grave marker of Ed King Ed King - grave marker of Ed King new headstone
Ed King (1862-March 21 1886) was killed by Lem Woodruff in a gunfight.

4 grave marker of Frank Valley Frank Valley - grave marker of Frank Valley new headstone
Frank Valley (1863-March 21 1886) was killed by Lem Woodruff in a gunfight.

5 grave marker of Fred Chilton Fred Chilton - grave marker of Fred Chilton new headstone
Frederick Douglas Chilton (1865-March 21, 1886) was killed by Lem Woodruff in a gunfight; son of William & Elizabeth Chilton.

6 grave marker of Fred Leigh Fred Leigh (?-1880) was killed by Cape Willingham.

7 grave marker of Bob Russell Bob Russell (?-1879) was killed by Jules Howard in a gunfight; first burial in Boothill Cemetery.

8 grave marker of Pete Fulton Pete "the Dutchman" Fulton was killed by John "Catfish Kid" Gough.

9 grave marker of Bacilio Sanches Bacilio Sanches was killed by a horse.

10 grave marker of Frank Norwood Frank Norwood was killed by John Maley.

11 grave marker of John Maley John Maley was killed by Ed Norwood, brother of Frank Norwood.

12 grave marker of Ruben Juice Ruben Juice

13 grave marker of Apple Axe Apple Axe, cook's helper

14 grave marker of Bill Smith Bill Smith

15 grave marker of Overton Bounds Overton Bounds

16 grave marker of Ralph Ledbetter Ralph Ledbetter

17 grave marker of Jim Jones Jim Jones

18 grave marker of Bill Klimm Bill Klimm

19 grave marker of Garl Yowell Garl Yowell

20 grave marker of Bob Luker Bob Luker

21 grave marker of Unknown Adult Female Unknown adult female died of smallpox.

22 grave marker of Unknown infants Unknown infants died of smallpox.

23 grave marker of Jim Sane Jim Sane

24 grave marker of Hugh Dickey Hugh Dickey

25 grave marker of George Findley George Findley

26 grave marker of Ed Morgan Ed Morgan

27 grave marker of Bobby Hughes Bobby Hughes
Historical Marker: Along with law-abiding and God-fearing men and women were buried here, often without benefit of clergy, men who "died with their boots on". The name was borrowed from a cemetery in Dodge City, Kansas, while it was a resort of buffalo hunters and trail drivers.

History: Old Tascosa, cowboy capital of the plains, lay one-half mile northeast of Boothill Cemetery. In its brief span it became the center of the open-range world. Stamping ground for some of the West's most notorious bad men and focal point for cattle thieves and ranchmen. Because of the easy crossing of the Canadian River at the site, it early became a meeting place where Indians and Mexican traders (comancheros) exchanged contraband goods, including women and children.

With the passing of the buffalo came the first permanent settlement, made by Mexican sheepherders in 1876. Charles Goodnight and Thomas S. Bugbee brought the first cattle to the free-grass empire the same year. Smaller ranchmen and nesters followed and the boom was on.

Hundreds of miles from the general line of settlement, Tascosa lured the lawless and the lawmen: the Billy the Kids and the Pat Garretts. To accommodate those who died with their boots on in growing gunfights, a cemetery was set aside in 1879. It was named for the famed 'Boot Hill' in Dodge City, Kansas, to which Tascosa was tied by cattle and freight trail. Heaviest toll in a single shoot out occurred March 21, 1886, when three cowboys and a restaurant owner died in a five-minute duel. All went to Boot Hill. The cattle trails, Tascosa's lifeblood, began to be pinched off with the coming of barbed wire, first commercial use of which was drawn still tighter when the vast XIT spread fenced its 3 million acres. By 1887 Tascosa was completely closed in. When the railroad bypassed it the same year, its fate was sealed. By the time the Oldham County seat was moved to Vega in 1915, only 15 residents remained. Sole remnants of the old town today are Boot Hill and the stone courthouse. The site, however, is occupied by Cal Farley's Boys Ranch.